Page 4: French author Voltaire wrote: "The man who, in a fit of melancholy, kills himself today, would have wished to live had he waited a week." Well, then, how can people in despair discover that life is worthwhile?
Note: The Watch Tower is quoting a famous anti-Christian.
In his first philosophical poem, Le pour et le contre (For and Against), Voltaire gave eloquent expression to both his anti-Christian views and his rationalist, deist creed.
Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Volume 27, page 110.
Page 4: But neither Moses, Elijah, nor Jonah committed suicide. All of them knew God's commandment: "You must not murder." (Exodus 20:13) Having strong faith in God, they were aware that no situation is hopeless and that life is a gift from God.
Note: True Christians have a strong faith in Jesus Christ.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Page 5: So a person who talks about suicide should be taken seriously. The problems he is having, whether emotional, physical, mental, or spiritual, may require prompt attention. Of course, professional treatments and therapies vary, and a personal decision must be made regarding forms of therapy. - Galatians 6:5.
Note: Generally, people having spiritual problems are not serving others.
Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Page 5: Although it is not a mental-health manual, the Bible can help us to value life. Said King Solomon: "I have come to know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good during one's life; and also that every man should eat and indeed drink and see good for all his hard work. It is the gift of God." (Ecclesiastes 3:12, 13)
Note: Are you generally enjoying life?
Ecclesiastes 9:8-9 Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil. Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun.
Page 5: Even more uplifting is the Bible's assurance that Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ, care about us. (John 3:16; 1 Peter 5:6, 7) Appropriately, the psalmist said: "Blessed be Jehovah, who daily carries the load for us, the true God of our salvation." (Psalm 68:19)
Note: For Christians, the true God of salvation is Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Page 5: Although we may feel insignificant and unworthy, God invites us to pray to him. Rest assured that no one who humbly and sincerely asks for his help will be despised.
Note: Have you humbly and sincerely asked Jesus Christ for help?
John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son."
Page 5: Paul did not stop with that statement. In fact, he and Silas comforted the jailer and responded to his question: "Sirs, what must I do to get saved?" They answered: "believe on the Lord Jesus and you will get saved, you and your household." Then they spoke Jehovah's word to him and his household, with the result that "he and his were baptized without delay." That jailer and all his household rejoiced greatly and found new meaning in life. - Acts 16:27-34.
Note: Have you found you new meaning in life due to Jesus Christ?
John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Pages 5-6: Soon, all the distress that Satan and his demons have brought upon earth's inhabitants will end by divine intervention. Then God's promised new world of righteousness will bring about a permanent end to the causes behind hopelessness and suicide. - 2 Peter 3:13.
Correction: Jesus Christ will bring about a permanent end to hopelessness.
Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth."
Page 6: Even now, those who are despondent can draw comfort from the Scriptures. (Romans 15:4) The psalmist David sang: "A heart broken and crushed O God, you will not despise."
Note: Have you drawn comfort from Jesus Christ?
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Page 6: True, we inescapably meet with some trials and feel the effects of imperfection. But taking in accurate knowledge of our kind, loving, and reasonable heavenly Father will give us reassurance that we are precious in his eyes. God can become our foremost Friend and Instructor.
Note: True Christians take in knowledge of Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.
Note: Are you a friend of Jesus Christ?
John 15:14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you."
Page 6: If we cultivate an intimate relationship with Jehovah God, he will never disappoint us. "I, Jehovah, am your God," says our Creator, "the One teaching you to benefit yourself, the One teaching you to benefit yourself, the One causing you to teach in the way in which you should walk." - Isaiah 48:17.
Note: True Christians will be focused on Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Page 6: The hope that "there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous" has taken some of the sting out of the tragic death of her dear son and has strengthened her faith in God. (Acts 24:15)
Note: The Watch Tower did not tell Mara the outcome for the unrighteous.
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Rev 20:15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Page 7: What a comfort it is to know that human suffering is temporary! Under the rule of God's Kingdom, children and adults who are now victims of crime, injustice, or prejudice will rejoice. As foretold in a prophetic psalm, Jehovah's appointed King, Jesus Christ, "will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper." Moreover, "he will feel sorry for the lowly one and the poor one, and the souls of the poor ones he will save." Indeed, "from oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and their blood will be precious in his eyes." - Psalm 72:12-14.
Note: The rule of God's Kingdom will be the rule of Jesus Christ.
Acts 28:30-31 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
Page 8: JESUS CHRIST once spoke of two roads. One is spacious and leads off into death. The other is cramped but leads off into life. (Matthew 7:13, 14) To enable people to choose the right road, Jehovah God purposed that the good news of the Kingdom be preached in all the world.
Note: The "good news of the Kingdom" is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the good news which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Page 8: Hence, people everywhere are listening to the Kingdom message, and some are choosing life by becoming "the sort that have faith to the preserving alive of the soul." (Hebrews 10:39)
Note: Jehovah's Witnesses are under a curse from God.
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other good news to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Page 10: THE Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many," Jesus Christ told his apostles. (Matthew 20:28)
Note: Jesus Christ was declaring Himself.
John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
Page 10: To the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, he said: "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth." (John 18:37)
Note: Jesus Christ was declaring Himself.
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
Page 10: His ministry on earth as the Messiah was to be only three and a half years long. It began with his water baptism in the Jordan River (in 29 C.E.) at the start of the foretold 70th symbolic week and ended with his death on a torture stake in the middle of that week(in 33 C.E.)
Correction: Jesus Christ did not die on a "torture stake" telephone pole.
Matthew 27:32 Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.
Page 10: The Gospel accounts portray Jesus Christ as a man of action who traveled the length and breadth of the land of Palestine, declaring the good news of God's Kingdom and performing many powerful works.
Note: Jesus Christ was declaring Himself.
John 8:18 "I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."
Pages 10-11: Near the end of his ministry, he used the expression "the hour has come." (John 7:8, 30; 12:23) Jesus' awareness of the hour, or the time for his assigned work, including his sacrificial death, must have affected what he said and did. Understanding this can give us insight into his personality and the pattern of his thinking, helping us "to follow his steps" more closely. - 1 Peter 2:21.
Correction: Awareness of the hour gives true Christians insight into the deity of Jesus Christ.
John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
Isaiah 42:8 I am Jehovah, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images.
Page 11: What determination to do his Father's will is expressed in Jesus' answer to Mary! May we be similarly determined to fulfill our "whole obligation" to God. - Ecclesiastes 12:13.
Note: Are you in the will of God or in the will of Watch Tower works?
John 6:40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
Page 11: While in Jerusalem, Jesus performs remarkable signs, and many people put faith in him. Even Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin, or Jewish high court, is impressed with Jesus and comes to him in the night to learn more.
Note: Jesus Christ told Nicodemus the requirement for entering the Kingdom of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Page 12: As they travel through the district of Samaria, Jesus seizes an opportunity to give a thorough witness to a Samaritan woman. This paves the way for many Samaritans to become believers. Let us too be alert to opportunities to speak about the Kingdom.
Correction: Jesus Christ was declaring Himself.
John 4:25-26 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Page 12: In Galilee, Jesus commences an even greater ministry than in Judea and Jerusalem. He goes "throughout the whole of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity among the people." (Matthew 4:23) His challenging words: "Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near," ring out in the entire district. (Matthew 4:17)
Note: Will you be in the kingdom of heaven?
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Page 13: The Jewish religious leaders accuse Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. He replies: "My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working." Now the Jews charge him with blasphemy for claiming to be God's Son by calling him Father.
Correction: The charge of blasphemy was for Jesus Christ making Himself equal with God.
John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
Note: Jesus Christ was of the same substance as the Father.
Page 13: They seek to kill Jesus, but he and his disciples leave Jerusalem for Galilee. Similarly, we are wise to avoid undue confrontations with opposers as we devote our energy to the Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work. - John 5:1-18; 6:1.
Correction: True Christians will boldly speak the truth about Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Page 14: On the final day of the festival, enraged at Jesus' statements about his prehuman existence, the Jews pick up stones to hurl at him. But he hides and escapes unharmed.
Note: Jehovah Witnesses like the Jews are enraged when Jesus Christ is declared God.
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Page 14: In the winter of 32 C.E., Jesus' "hour" is drawing closer. He comes to Jerusalem for the Festival of Dedication. The Jews are still seeking to kill him. While Jesus is walking in the temple colonnade, they encircle him. Accusing him again of blasphemy, they pick up stones to kill him.
Note: The charge of blasphemy was for Jesus Christ declaring Himself to be God.
John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."
Page 14: The urgent message is from Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus, who live in Bethany of Judea. "Lord, see! the one for whom you have affection is sick," the messenger relates. "This sickness is not with death as its object," answers Jesus, "but is for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
Note: God does not share His glory with anyone.
Isaiah 48:11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
Page 14: As the stone covering the entrance of Lazarus' tomb is removed, Jesus prays out loud so that the people will know that what he is about to do is accomplished through the power of God. Then he cries out with a loud voice: "Lazarus, come on out!"
Note: Will you hear the voice of Jesus Christ?
John 5:25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live."
Page 15: So it is that by delaying his arrival in Bethany, Jesus is able to perform a miracle that no one can ignore. Empowered by God, Jesus resurrects a man who has been dead for four days.
Note: As God, the Son gives life just as the Father does.
John 5:21 "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will."
Page 16: The next evening when Mary ministers to him using precious perfumed oil, the disciples object. Jesus replies: "Let her alone, that she may keep this observance in view of the day of my burial. For you have the poor always with you, but me you will not have always." (John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13) Jesus knows that 'his hour has come for him to move out of this world to the Father.' (John 13:1) Five days more and he will "give his soul a ransom in exchange for many." (Mark 10:45)
Correction: The hour had come for Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world.
Mat 26:45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners."
Page 16: "Blessed is the One coming as the King in Jehovah's name!" they cry. Some Pharisees in the crowd want Jesus to rebuke his disciples. However, Jesus replies: "I tell you, if these remained silent, the stones would cry out." - Luke 19:38-40; Matthew 21:6-9.
Note: Jehovah's Witnesses like the Pharisees get mad when praises are sung to Jesus Christ.
Matthew 21:8-9 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!"
Page 16: As is his custom when visiting Jerusalem, Jesus, the Great Teacher, goes to the temple to teach. There the blind and the lame come to him, and he cures them. When the chief priests and the scribes see this and they hear the boys in the temple crying out, "Save, we pray, the Son of David!" they become angry.
Note: Jehovah's Witnesses like the scribes become angry when Jesus Christ is declared God.
John 6:45 "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
Page 17: Now the crowds are openly declaring him King and Savior - the Messiah - and he rebuffs the religious leaders' requests to silence them! Why the change?
Answer: Jesus Christ was declaring Himself the Messiah or God in human flesh.
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am Jehovah, and besides Me there is no savior.
Page 18: After relating how a grain of wheat must die in order to bear fruit - corresponding to his own dying and becoming a means to impart everlasting life to others - Jesus extends an invitation to his listeners, saying: "If anyone would minister to me, let him follow me, and where I am there my minister will be also. If anyone would minister to me, the Father will honor him"
Note: Are you serving Jesus Christ?
John 12:26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."
Romans 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the good news of God
Page 18: Being deeply concerned about how his Father's reputation will be affected by his death, Jesus prays: "Father, glorify your name." To the amazement of the crowd gathered at the temple, a voice comes out of heaven, proclaiming: "I both glorified it and will glorify it again." The Great Teacher uses this opportunity to tell the crowd why the voice has been heard, what the consequences of his death will be, and why they need to exercise faith. (John 12:28-36)
Correction: Jesus was deeply concerned about His death and reconciling people back to God.
John 12:32-33 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
Page 19: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!" Jesus declares six times. They are such because, as he explains, they shut up the Kingdom of the heavens before men, not permitting those on their way in to go in. These hypocrites traverse sea and dry land to make one proselyte, only to make him a subject for eternal annihilation.
Note: The Watch Tower shuts up the kingdom of the heavens for the vast majority of JWs.
Page 19: Going on, Jesus utters his strongest words of denunciation. "Serpents, offspring of vipers," he says, "how are you to flee from the judgment of Gehenna?" Yes, Jesus is telling them that for pursuing their wicked course, they will suffer everlasting destruction. (Matthew 23:16-22, 33) May we too show courage in proclaiming the Kingdom message, even when it involves exposing false religion.
Note: The WT false religion would never praise the Father and the Son together as God.
Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
Page 19: After dismissing Judas Iscariot, who has agreed to betray his Master for 30 pieces of silver - the price of a mere slave according to the Mosaic Law - Jesus introduces the Memorial of his death. - Exodus 21:32; Matthew 26:14, 15, 26-29; John 13:2-30.
Note: The Watch Tower dismisses the majority of JWs from partaking the Memorial Supper.
Matthew 26:26-27 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you."
Page 20: Within hours, Jesus is to die as though he were a despicable criminal. The agony of this anticipated experience and how it may bring reproach upon his Father is so intense that while Jesus prays, his sweat becomes as drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44)
Correction: The agony of dying a horrible death made His humanity tremble.
Luke 22:41-43 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.
Page 20: By Friday noon, Jesus is nailed to a torture stake and suffers excruciating pain as the weight of his body tears at the nail wounds in his hands and feet. (John 19:17, 18)
Correction: Jesus Christ did not carry a "torture stake" telephone pole.
John 19:17-18 And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.
Page 20: At about three in the afternoon, Jesus cries out: "It has been accomplished!" Yes, he has completed all that he came to earth to do. Entrusting his spirit to God, he bows his head and dies. (John 19:28, 30; Matthew 27:45, 46; Luke 23:46)
Note: The purpose for the death of the Son was to reconcile sincere believers back to the Father.
Ephesians 2:14-16 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Page 20: On the third day thereafter, Jehovah resurrects his Son. (Mark 16:1-6)
Note: The Father is Jehovah!
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
Note: The Son is Jehovah!
John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
Note: The Holy Spirit is Jehovah!
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Page 20: Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus ascends to the heavens and is glorified.
Note: The Watch Tower refuses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God.
Romans 9:3-5 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
Page 20: How may we 'follow Jesus' steps closely? (1 Peter 2:21) Like him, let us exert ourselves vigorously in the Kingdom-preaching and disciple-making work and be bold and courageous in speaking the word of God.
Correction: True Christians will be focused on Jesus Christ.
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
Page 20: Let us never lose sight of where we are in the stream of time or fail to incite one another to love and fine works. (Mark 13:28-33; Hebrews 10:24, 25)
Note: True Christians will be focused on Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Page 20: May we let our entire course of action be governed by Jehovah God's will and the awareness that we are living in "the time of the end." - Daniel 12:4.
Note: The Watch Tower is focused on events instead of Jesus Christ.
Acts 1:7-8 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Note: Are you a Jesus Witness?
Page 21: God's only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, is the prime example of someone with a self - sacrificing spirit. In his prehuman existence, his life must have been stimulating and satisfying to the highest degree. He had close, intimate association with his Father and with spirit creatures.
Note: The Watch Tower refuses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Page 21: Moreover, God's Son used his abilities in challenging and exciting activities as "a master worker." (Proverbs 8:30, 31)
Note: The Watch Tower lacks wisdom by declaring Jesus Christ to be a woman in context.
Proverbs 8:1-4 Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors: "To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men."
Proverbs 8:11 For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.
Note: The phrase "God's Son" does not appear in Scripture.
Page 22: Yet, God's Son "emptied himself and took a slave's form and came to be in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:7) He willingly relinquished all his personal advantages by becoming a human and offering his life as a ransom in order to undo the harm caused by Satan.
Note: The Watch Tower refuses to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God.
Philippians 2:5-7 et this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
Page 22: Realizing where Jesus' self-sacrificing course was leading, the apostle Peter said: "Be kind to yourself, Lord." (Matthew 16:22) He apparently found it difficult to accept Jesus' willingness to go as far as death in the interests of his Father's sovereignty and the salvation of mankind. So he tried to dissuade Jesus from pursuing such a course.
Correction: Sovereignty has never been an issue with God since He has always been in control.
Job 42:1-2 Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."
Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."
Webster's Definition of Sovereignty: Supreme power.
Note: The Watch Tower theology suggests that God is not all-powerful.
Page 23: In this regard, Paul set a fine example. His sense of urgency and his gratitude to Jehovah moved him to relinquish worldly aspirations or prospects that could have side-tracked him from doing God's will. "For my part," he said, "I will most gladly spend and be completely spent" in serving the interests of others. (2 Corinthians 12:15) Paul used his abilities to further divine interests, not his own. - Acts 20:24; Philippians 3:8.
Note: Are you taking in knowledge of Jesus Christ?
Philippians 3:8-11 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Page 23: Millions of people have found that manifesting this kind of spirit brings great happiness right now. It will also bring joy in the future when Jehovah rewards those who put his interests and those of others ahead of their own. - 1 Timothy 4:8-10.
Note: The Father will do the rewarding.
Matthew 6:1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven."
Note: The Son will do the rewarding.
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works."
Page 24: Are you determined to be self-sacrificing? This will not be easy. There is a constant battle between our imperfect human desires and our earnest wish to please God. (Romans 7:21 - 23) But it is a battle that can be won if we let Jehovah direct our lives. (Galatians 5:16, 17)
Note: Will you let the Holy Spirit direct your life through your witness for Jesus Christ?
Rom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.